Confessions On A Bathroom Stall
by TheDominoEffect
Summary: “Oh, if it isn’t Thunder Thighs.” Sakura supposed she could thank the name calling and Ino, the rumors, for leading them to the bathroom stall and the graffiti that would change the world as they knew it. —SasukeSakura. AU.
1. Clogged

Good day. I don't own Naruto. :(

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Confessions _On_ **A** _Bathrooom_ Stall

T_h_**e**D_**o**m_i**n**_oEff__e_c**t**

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"—id you see what she was wearing last night?"

"Oh, I _know_."

"She is _such _a wannabe."

"Oh, don't even worry about it, honey. It looked _so _much better on you."

"Totally. She looked like a cow with her thunder thighs. I don't know why anyone would let her out like that—I get that no one likes her, but seriously. Someone should have stopped her for their own sake! And how she was invited still doesn't make sense to me. I mean, someone like her couldn't _possibly_ run in the same circles as us."

Sakura. Wanted. To. _Scream_.

It would have been a little better if she'd caught them talking behind her back as she eavesdropped. It would have been better if she didn't even know the girls and could care less about what they said about her. Sakura was the type of girl who liked to _think_ she didn't care if someone said nasty things behind her back. She liked to believe she was tough and that nothing could pierce the shiny, tough armor she wore. Sakura liked to believe she was strong and unaffected. She wanted to believe she was a bit of a Hermione Granger—that she could roll her eyes and wave it off. And if the situation ever called for it—punch the adversary in the face and get it over with.

But in reality, she couldn't _stand _it. It drove her insane—to the point of imagining pulling the fake extensions out of the girls' hair.

One of the things that ticked her off was the fact that she _knew_ these girls. Some of them were going to be on her soccer team, for Christ's sake. Some of them played Tokyo Youth soccer with her for years. Others had been in the same classes as her for the same amount of time.

Everything was supposed to be fine and dandy.

Until she was made captain of the girl's soccer team, now all of her old teammates and classmates wanted to bite her neck off and feed the bits back to her through her ears. Why was it they suddenly hated her? Because she had _talent_?

If anything, the thing that _really _pissed her off was the fact that her potential team members _knew _she was there and _knew _she could hear them and still, they spoke about her as if they could care less. They clearly meant for her to hear everything they were saying, yet they wouldn't even say it to her face. If she couldn't be respected by her teammates, how the hell would she be able to last the flippin' season with them clenching their fake nail tips at her throat?

"Oh, whatever. I bet she scammed an invite. How else would she get invited to _the _Deidara's—Deidara from the gang _Akatsuki—_party? His parties are exclusive. Totally invite-only and knowing her and how butch she is, she probably dangled some poor girl by her ankles and stole the invite. Did you _see_ the hole she kicked through the soccer net?!"

"Oh my gosh, yeah! Pathetic much?"

"Totally."

Sakura's eyes flashed and with her lips set in resolution, she grabbed her necktie and black school shoes before grabbing the edge of her locker door and slamming it shut with a satisfying _bang!_

"What is _her _proble—"

Sakura whirled around, ready with a stream of words to put them in their place when a restraining hand rested on her forearm.

"Move it." The two girls' eyes widened as they slowly made way for the source of the voice—Yakushi Karin.

She pursed her naturally pink, glossy lips and tilted her head, slinging her uniform jersey over her shoulder.

"Have a bit of tact, will you? I know it might be a bit hard for your brains to process, but this is our team captain. The person who has the responsibility of helping coach pick who's going to be on the team and who won't, so you'd better watch your goddamned mouths if you know what's good for you." Karin's voice, which started off as nonchalant, turned low and dark, "And if Sakura won't take care of your asses, you can bet that I _will_."

There were answering scoffs and sniffs of disdain but Sakura didn't look at them. She couldn't take her eyes off of Karin, who easily tossed her practice clothes into her locker. "Oh, and by the way?" Karin continued with a sadistic grin on her face, "Your nose looks_ almost_ as false as your boobs."

Karin slammed the puke green locker shut and spun around on her heel. She gave Sakura a quick smirk and nod of acknowledgement. Sakura nearly burst out laughing. What she herself said might not have had any impact on the two dolts before her but surely to people such as them, Karin's words would have a strong impact.

Sakura held her clothes closer to her chest and slung her bag over her shoulder. In doing so, she caught sight of the two girls. Water ran its course down her tightened throat as she swallowed and inwardly cringed. If looks could kill, Sakura would have been cremated and spread over the fiery pits of Hell and back.

She made the smartest decision she could think of—retreat to the closest bathroom and change there.

* * *

The girl's bathroom was as crowded as it always was between classes; where girls sprinted in to touch up their make-up or used a bathroom for its general purpose. Sakura, however, wished everybody would just leave so that she could use her personal stall. The day had seemed long and horrible enough before the incident in the locker room. At this point, all she needed to do was sit down and cry.

She stood by the familiar forest green door with its broken bottom left hinge and listened for the silent flush. Sakura glanced up when the door creaked open, slamming her slightly on the side. Her eyes hardened and her arms fell limply to her side.

The last thing she needed to make her day any worse was this.

"Oh, if it isn't Thunder Thighs," Watanabe Ami sneered crudely. With a swift flick, she tossed her violet colored hair over her bare shoulder and crossed her arms. "Try to keep your rough soccer legs out of my way."

If it would not have gotten her suspended (though, there is the possibly it wouldn't have, with her connection to the principal), Sakura would have kicked her "rough soccer legs" straight into Ami's face. "Oh, well, Watanabe. I'll try my best to accommodate you, but huh. That's quite a large amount of mass I have to try and avoid."

Ami's eyes narrowed dangerously and inched forward. "Look, wannabe, you'd better _watch_ it. Because you know the only thing keeping us from roasting your sorry little ass is that Uzumaki has your back. And try not to forget, that can change at _any_ moment."

Sakura tried her hardest not to scoff. Like Ami would be able to come in between her and her ramen-obsessed best friend. "Is that a threat?"

Ami leaned back indifferently and flicked an imaginary piece of dirt from under her nail. "No," she looked up with a smirk, "It's a promise."

Ami pushed her heels off the side of the stall and the rest of her posse marched out after her. Flushed red with anger, Sakura roughly shoved open the stall door, the broken hinge screeching in protest. She promptly kicked the door closed and the decade old lock stuck shut.

What was everyone's problem? What exactly had she even done in the first place? Was she Hitler in her past life, for everyone to hate her so much?

Surely, someone liked her. Like Naruto.

She sighed.

Sakura's phone buzzed in her pocket and she whipped out the pink Blackberry. Running her finger over the unlock combo, she checked her newest text.

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**New Message**

**Sender:** Uzumaki Naruto

_Hey! Wanna come chill with some people at my place today after school? _

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Sakura's nose scrunched upwards as she thought of Naruto's definition of "people". First, there would be his awful girlfriend, Ami. If Ami was there, so would her bitch-posse, and the rest of the "popular" girls would probably be there. Then there was the Ice Cube Pricks—Hyuuga, Nara, Uchiha, Sai… Why did she even have to consider?

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Reply. Delete.

**Sender:** Haruno Sakura

_No. Your girlfriend's a bitch. _

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Maybe she was being harsh, but Naruto knew well enough that she did not approve of Ami. When they were younger, it always seemed Naruto would be the outcast and Sakura would be queen of the school. But then, in fourth grade, Sakura had accidentally knocked Ami into a mud-puddle and everything went downhill socially from there. It wasn't that Sakura was a socially-inept loser; she fared well enough socially. It was merely absurd that Naruto, her dorky best friend since Day 1, would become King of Popular.

It was even more ridiculous that he would go so far as to ignore her begging and date Watanabe Ami.

She supposed high school changed even the best of them.

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**New Message **

**Sender:** Uzumaki Naruto

_): Don't be like that. You don't even know her that much! But fine then, I'll just see you in Chemistry. _

Reply. Delete.

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Sakura hissed in frustration and hacked her phone into the tiled wall. The screen split with a sickening "crack" and the phone plopped lifelessly to the ground. And despite the fact Sakura had just ruined a three-month old phone, she didn't care. It didn't matter. The world hated her and even her best friend was bailing out on her.

Tears prickled in her eyes and everything went blurry. She sniffled and tilted her head up, refusing to cry. Faded scribbles on the stall walls meshed together. Immature scrawls and declarations of love alike blurred. Taken over by a sudden flush of remorse and impulse, Sakura whipped the pink Sharpie she kept with her from the back of her uniform skirt. Vehemently, she crammed the pen against the wall and crunched out the letters.

She could feel her emotions meshing just like the words on the stall had. Her content with Karin, her utter disdain for Ami, and her anger at Naruto—they were tugging at her from every angle possible. And she was going to split and crack.

She took a step backward and stared at what she had just written. Feeling somewhat elated, she stepped out of the stall and made her way to out.

And newly branded onto the wall in pink Sharpie was:

"I am _sick _of Konoha. No… that's not true. I just hate the whiny, petty little _girls_ that hike their skirts and have every boy dropping to their knees with their tongues hanging out of their mouths. I hate the way people you've known for years change once you hit high school. I hate that your best friend will drop everything for some bitch that may like him enough but doesn't give a shit when another boy comes along. I hate that, no matter how much you try to stay outof the petty high school dramas, you're pulled down under anyway. I hate the jealousy and I hate the shallow. I hate the different cliques and I hate the prejudice. It's so _disgusting_. I _hate _this school. And I'm really starting to hate everybody in it."

* * *

"Oi, Teme!" Naruto flopped down next to him on the picnic table. "Why do you look like you've got a stick up your ass? It's Friday! Lighten up!"

From somewhere to his right, Sasuke heard Sai snort and mutter, "When does he _not _look like he has a stick up his ass?"

Funny, it came out of the automaton boy who had absolutely no emotion.

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes and watched Naruto's girlfriend—_Ally? Amy? Algae?—_settle herself in his lap and start tracing patterns into his chest. The idiot always acted like such a moron where this girl was concerned. Well… more of an idiot than usual and frankly, Sasuke had absolutely no clue as to what he could have found that was so enchanting about the Thing.

She giggled and whispered something in Naruto's ear and Sasuke had to turn away before he ruined their 'moment'. It had happened more times than he cared to count and Naruto hadn't been too pleased about it.

Though Sasuke could care less if Naruto was displeased with him, he really didn't want the kid to start talking his ear off.

"Troublesome," grated Shikamaru, sitting up from the top of the table. He itched at his head before gazing heavenward, pushing irritably at Naruto's head. "Do you _have _to bring her around here? Tch, women."

"You're just jealous, Nara!"

Hyuuga, who was on the other side of the picnic table, scoffed and stood up. With a mere, "I'm leaving," he left, sending Sasuke an irritated look that clearly stated _why are you friends with him? _Shikamaru quickly followed suit, declaring he had better things to do, leaving him to watch Naruto and the thing.

The girl purred saucily something that Sasuke really could have done without and with a roll of his eyes, Sasuke mentally groaned. "Dobe, take that somewhere else. I'm tempted to throw my lunch back up."

Naruto frowned at his friend before his lips curved back upwards slyly. "Well, I suggest you take yourself somewhere else before tomato ends up all over the ground. You know Orochimaru doesn't like to clean up throw-up."

Gaara, who had been quietly resting his head against the table looked up and snorted, resting a pale white cheek into his palm. "That creepy janitor? If the vomit came from Sasuke, he'd probably be eager to lick it clean."

Sasuke kicked the red head in the shin and glowered. "Shut it, Sabaku."

Naruto decided, at that moment, it would be a good time to play tonsil hockey, and Gaara and Sasuke took the chance to escape. Halfway past the soccer field, Gaara spoke up. "I don't get what's so great about her," he stated blandly, whipping a slick black Android out of his sweatshirt pocket.

Sasuke merely scoffed. "She's the only person the Dobe could possibly dream of catching?" Sasuke offered monotonously, stuffing his rough hands inside the pockets of his uniform pants.

Gaara looked up momentarily from his phone and the two of them stopped walking. Gaara sighed and looked at Sasuke with a dead-serious expression. "The moron has a Jesus complex and we all know that."

Sasuke's long raven bangs fell into his face when he gave his head a light shake. "Hate to say it."

There was an awkward pause between the two. Sasuke turned from the soccer field to Gaara once more, with a confused expression.

"Why is there a _hole_ in the soccer net?"

* * *

Ino wanted to slap herself. But even more, she wanted to slap the girl next to her. Her freshly manicured nails dug into her palm as she resisted the urge to thwack Ami across the face. Her free hand tapped impatiently against the wooden counter of her history desk, where she had the misfortune to sit next to her fellow cheermate.

"And she had the nerve to call _me_ a load? I mean with all her stupid muscle she definitely weighs more than me—"

An automatic smile etched itself on Ino's face as she tuned out the other girl. Fifty minutes. Just fifty minutes and she would be away from Ami, and she could be left alone. It was all she could ask for with the horrible day she was having. After she had caught her boyfriend macking on some other girl at Deidara's party last night, he had the _nerve _to walk around with yet another girl around his arms all day. They hadn't even officially broken up yet!

Honestly, she hadn't been in a room where she _didn't _hear talk about her boyfriend's actions. Ino wasn't modest, that was certain. She wasn't deaf either. She knew she was claimed to be one of the most beautiful girls in school. So who on _Earth_ did that asshole think he was to be scorning her in front of all of her friends?!

"I don't even know why Naruto claims she's his best friend. I mean, _hello_? Social _Loser_'s Society calling and we're looking for the soccer _freak_—"

Ino rubbed imperceptibly at her temples. She was about to silence Ami when a girl slipped into class late and Iruka gave the entire class a reprimanding glance. "Silence! Class has begun. Everyone better be in their seats in five seconds so I can start!"

She held in a sigh of relief when Ami shut her mouth and instead discreetly pulled out her phone to ramble to someone else. And for fifty minutes, she was allowed silence and to fall into her own world. A world with no distractio—

"Um, hello? Ino? You alive?" Ino's eyes narrowed at Ami, having been taken out of her thoughts. A quick glance at the iPhone she had left on top of her textbooks told her class was over. Where did the time go?

"What?" Ino replied snappily.

Ami crinkled her nose at Ino's tone and she snarled, placing a slender hand onto her jutted hip. "Are you being a bitch today because of the Jirobo thing? Because, seriously. You're being _such _a drama queen about that. It's not like you actually liked him anyway."

Crimson red flashed before Ino's eyes, and without even thinking she shot out of her seat with her lips pursed. Fists clenched, she hissed, "Don't you dare talk like you know anything, you _cow_."

Feeling a light sense of satisfaction from the look of horror on Ami's face, Ino stormed out of the room. Her mind clouded by fury, she paraded down the hall carelessly to the bathroom, nearly plowing over a group of people. She swung open the door and three girls inside stiffened. The freshmen watched with wonder as _the_ Yamanaka Ino strutted indifferently past them in a stall.

"I heard that she does modeling for magazines in her spare time." One of them whispered.

"Apparently, Killer Bee asked her to be the leading lady in his music video, but then they turned her away because she was _too _pretty and she was overshadowing him."

Ino's cerulean blue eyes rolled upwards at the absurd rumors and the girls' fail of an attempt to gossip discreetly. With a light push, she slid open the door to the second last stall on the left, its broken hinge screeching in protest. She turned around to shut it when she caught fresh pink ink in the corner of her eye. Curious, she leaned in to read the neat and girlish writing.

Several statements made her lips curve into a pretty, but cruel smile.

_"…hate the way people you've known for years change…"_

_"… will drop everything for some bitch that may like him enough but doesn't give a shit when another boy comes along…"_

_"… hate the jealousy and I hate the shallow…"_

_"… hate this school. And I'm really starting to hate everybody in it."_

Yeah? Well, Ino couldn't help but agree completely. This girl, whoever she was, pretty much had everything spot-on, but pity she was missing out on a couple of crucial points. With a smirk, Ino uncapped her infamous lavender Sharpie and added her two cent flair onto the bathroom stall.

Taking a step back, she admired the work of her lavender penmanship, contrasting with the puke green wall and the bright pink ink. Satisfied, she stepped out of the stall and headed back to the real world, feeling a bit better.

At least someone in this place had some sense.

* * *

_Let the pieces fall where they may,_

_TDE_


	2. Washed Up

Still don't own Naruto, but thanks for the feedback. Really. :)

Confessions _On_ **A** _Bathrooom_ Stall

T_h_**e**D**_o_**_m_i**n**_o__Effec_**_t_**

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Ino didn't know whose idea it was, but from the way Jirobo was making his rounds around the courtyard meant one thing and one thing only; somebody had planned this confrontation and sooner or later they were going to get to her end.

In a moment, all eyes would be on them and only one would be left standing.

And Ino wasn't stupid enough to think, automatically, that it'd be her.

"Ino," said Megumi, in a low whisper from beside her, "—what are you going to do?"

Ino turned her eyes away from her ex-boyfriend and feigned nonchalance.

It wouldn't do to allow these people the satisfaction of seeing a—no—_the _Yamanaka jealous. She had an image to uphold, after all. He was just some guy, Jirobo. Just another guy. Why should she be affected at all that he'd decided to throw away almost three months of what they had?

Three months, only three. It wasn't very long in the grand scheme of things, but in high school, it seemed like a respectable time. She thought they could've lasted longer, but here they were, resorted to this.

She meant what she'd written on that pathetic excuse for a bathroom stall.

Whoever that girl was who'd written previously, Ino had a feeling, though the girl had some idea about what went down at Konoha, she was still living a bit innocently.

Ino lived in the heart of the high school scene and she'd never quite liked ignorance.

"If they want a show," Ino said lowly as she scanned the more than usually crowded courtyard, "—then we'll give them one."

_If Jirobo or that bitch thought they could embarrass her like this in _her _territory, they had better pull out now because they had something else coming to them._

There was chatter all around them and her table, but Ino paid no mind until Megumi whispered again, "He's coming."

Slowly, her ice blue eyes lifted and she immediately caught sight of Jirobo and some sophomore hanging off his arm.

A pretty, if not cruel, smile appeared on her lips.

_Let the games begin._

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"Hey Jirobo, who's the little girl?"

Megumi subtly nudged her in the side, but Ino wasn't one to follow rules.

Screw it if they all thought she was going to wait like some coward for him to talk first. She was Ino Yamanaka, for God's sake. She was practically the one who _enforced _these rules when she'd come to Konoha Academy and she could just as easily break them.

Jirobo said nothing.

Instead, Ino watched as a sharp gleam settled in the sophomore's eyes and she seemed to clutch exaggeratedly onto Jirobo's arm. "I'm Moegi," her eyes were bright with challenge, "—Jirobo's girlfriend. Didn't he tell you?"

She was cute, Ino thought, if not in a completely annoying way.

"Huh, he didn't," Ino slid her gaze back to Jirobo, who stared back, unmoving, "—funny that. I guess that speaks to how completely frivolous he thinks you are." She smiled at Moegi, who didn't seem the least intimidated.

"You know," she said nonchalantly, "—the role of the jealous ex works well for you." Her bottomless black eyes mocked her. "It makes your pretty blue eyes stand out amongst all that green."

There was a titter of laughter.

Ino wasn't surprised these people had stayed to watch.

"Jealous that Jirobo cheated on you for little, ol' me?"

Ino felt her muscles relax as she played with the golden plait of hair settled on the curve of her shoulder. "Not jealous, really, seeing as I honestly have no idea who you are. In fact, I should be thanking you." She pretended to scrutinize Jirobo with a bit of distaste. "I've been trying to think of ways to get rid of him without hurting his sensitive feelings. But hey, you're a sophomore, aren't you? It's impressive that you could have managed to snag a junior but I suppose that's either saying Jirobo's standards are too low or he's only after one thing."

From her right, she could hear her friends giggling and mock feeling each other up. Feeling a boost of confidence she continued, "Then again, there's probably not much to get from a little girl like you. How many tissues do you have inside your shirt right now, anyway?"

Ino winked cheekily at the girl and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Moegi merely drew her shoulders back and worked her jaw. "Oh, sweets, I'm all natural. And, I'm sure you'd know all about Jirobo's desires. Seeing as you could never meet them." Her next smile was cruel. "This is where you and I differ, Ino. I won't disappoint him like you did. He would never cheat on me."

"So you know my name after all," Ino drawled. She turned to look at Jirobo with an acerbic smirk to her lips. "Did you tell her that, Bobo?" He opened his lips to answer but she cut him off with a wave of her hand, "If not, I'm guessing you didn't deem it important to tell her I _never _had sex with you." Ino's eyes gleamed mockingly, "But I guess it's easier to go out with an easy girl than try to work it out with a Yamanaka, isn't it?"

He looked at her unrepentantly with his pretty green eyes. "Ino—"

_Damn_ if his voice didn't make a tremor run down her spine.

"—I'm sorry. We have to break up."

She felt her lips thinning. "Did you honestly think we were still together after I caught you macking on her yesterday, Jirobo? Seriously? I didn't think you were that stupid." When Jirobo opened his mouth to speak, she stopped him by holding up her hand. "Don't even try to justify yourself, hon. I wouldn't waste my time with desperate boys trying to get into a baby's pants."

Megumi laughed quietly from beside her.

Jirobo merely looked at Moegi, who shifted at his side. "Well," she forced a smile on her face, "—he just wanted to clear it up and make sure there wouldn't be any misunderstandings." She tugged his arm subtly before turning to look back at Ino. Her black eyes didn't seem as challenging as it had five minutes ago, they shone with a bit of remorse. It seemed as if she snapped out of her reverie and realized just whom she was speaking to. "I hope we can still be friends."

Ino raised an eyebrow, "You're sorely mistaken if you thought we _ever_ were." She turned on her heel and walked away, her head held high.

"You are _such _a bitch," Megumi shook her head. "Too bad I like it too much."

Ino's full pink lips smirked while the lion within her curled into a ball and cried its heart out.

* * *

Sasuke severely contemplated smashing Naruto's prized Xbox over his head.

Despite the satisfaction of seeing his enemies drop like flies on the big screen, Sasuke inwardly sighed and realized it was pretty damn sad that he was still here on a perfectly good Friday afternoon. He really needed to find some new people to hang out with, especially since Naruto was so insistent on being with the Thing.

The moron had invited him and the others over to play Call of Duty and Halo at his place after school but—

There was a giggle, then a moan.

—he really should have known better than to think the dobe wouldn't invite his girlfriend—_could the _Thing_ really be considered a girlfriend?—_over, too.

Why hadn't he left already?

He really should have taken a page from Hyuuga and Nara when they'd bailed as soon as the words had left the idiot's mouth.

Thank God at least Gaara had stayed.

"Na-ru-_to_!"

Another giggle.

Sasuke could feel a vein in his neck _throbbing. _

"Uchiha." Sasuke turned to look at the redhead whose eyes looked like they were turning from green to crimson. "Give me the spare controller."

By the time his fingers had hooked around one end of the controller, Sasuke could have sworn Gaara's eyes had gleamed with blood lust before he whirled around to the couple making out on the couch and snapped the controller at Naruto's head.

There was a yelp and a groan before Naruto's eyes snapped open and alighted with fire. "WHO THE HELL THREW THAT?!"

Sasuke merely quirked an eyebrow when Gaara supplied dismissively, "I did."

Naruto sputtered for two seconds and threw off his girlfriend who was dabbing at the blood on her lip. "_WHY_ DID YOU DO THAT?!"

Gaara merely turned back to the screen to start up a new game.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Do you even have to ask?" he muttered in a low voice, eyes looking pointedly at the girl watching half-annoyed, half-amused.

"If it's any consolation," Gaara piped in from his post on the ground, "—I was aiming for Watanabe."

Naruto's cobalt eyes narrowed with irritation and Ami gasped in offense. "I repeat myself, _why_? Why are you guys so jealous?!"

"I wanted to test if her nose was real." Gaara deadpanned, shooting the blond a sarcastic look. Sasuke snorted, picking up his controller once more. "They say plastic noses flatten easily."

Ami flushed a furious shade of red while Naruto continued to let out a string of curses, rubbing the newly formed bump on his head. "You're_ insane_."

Sasuke restrained himself from the witty rejoinder, '_You're _insane.'

Everybody had bolted the moment Watanabe had walked into the room asking what plans they had for the evening. Everybody but Gaara and himself. And now Sasuke could only wonder… why? If Shikamaru detested Watanabe enough to overcome his laziness and get up, it was truly a wonder why Sasuke himself had not left yet. And why Gaara hadn't killed her already.

"—Gaara, I'm going to kick your ass! What is your problem?! I bet you're just jealous because I can hold onto a girl longer than you could eve—"

Gaara wasn't even looking at the flailing blond in front of him. Instead, his eyes were looking out the large picture window of Naruto's living room. Only one word made Naruto's words still in his throat.

"Sakura."

"Sakura?" Naruto sounded confused. He whirled around to look out the window and Sasuke watched as his face visibly lit up. "Sakura!"

And then, he was out the door.

Sasuke, knowing there was no way he'd be able to make it to the next level with all of these interruptions, tossed his controller to the floor and walked to the window, already watching as the blonde made his way over to pink and navy.

Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata.

He didn't know much about them, other than the fact that Hinata was Neji's cousin and Sakura was Naruto's other best friend. How the hell she managed to put up with him and his witch of a girlfriend, Sasuke only wondered.

"It's _her _again."

Sasuke turned slightly to look at the violet-haired girl, with her arms crossed, beside him. A scowl was etched onto her lips and Sasuke briefly imagined her sprouting claws and fangs from the way she was looking at the two girls.

He may not know Haruno Sakura or Hyuuga Hinata very well, but Sasuke found he appreciated anybody who could annoy the Watanabe girl.

* * *

"Sakura!"

She couldn't hear him.

She wouldn't stop.

He was just a back-stabbing jerk that could be strung up on the flagpole by his manly parts for all she cared.

_Naruto, that stupid, whiny, little—_

"Sakura, it's Naruto," Hinata singsonged from her right.

Sakura sent her a dark look before shaking her head. "I am _not _talking to him. He's been such a jerk ever since he started dating Ami and I swear to God, I never thought Naruto would be one of those pricks who dropped their friends once they got to high school but look at him now, Hinata, and tell me he hasn't changed!"

Hinata merely raised an eyebrow. "Sakura," she said in her soft, chastising voice, "—you seem to be forgetting, I have no idea what Naruto was like in middle and elementary school. As far as I'm concerned, he's always been the jerk who's been making you miserable." Her solemn expression cracked with her small grin, "—but you have to admit, he's kind of cute."

Sakura glared at her. "_Not _helping."

"I know," she giggled, eyes looking over Sakura's shoulder. "You can't ignore him all the way home, Sakura."

"Of course I can," Sakura sniffed. "We've been neighbors since we were four. He knows when I'm too annoyed to talk to him and he'll probably throw rocks at my window and climb into my room tonight to talk anyway."

"You sound like you're bitter."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I _am_. He's been my best friend since forever and _now _he wants to start acting like the coolest chip in the bag? _Hell no_."

"Sakura! WAIT UP."

"You know you're going to stop sooner or later," Hinata threw in.

Sakura growled. "Yeah. Well let's make it later rather than sooner."

"Haruno Sakura, _please_!"

Sakura whirled around, almost swinging her book bag into Naruto's face. He skidded to a stop and threw his hands up. "Whoa! You almost hit me!"

"Yeah," she deadpanned. "That's what I was going for." With a sigh, Sakura settled her green eyes onto his earnest blues. "What do you want from me, Naruto? Seriously. I am _this _close to drop kicking you to Greenland."

A wide grin split his face. "Greenland? Isn't that the one with the—"

"With the ice, yes."

His expression of confusion only lasted for two seconds before he waved it off. "Sakura, come over to my place! That bastard Gaara is jealous because Ami's over and the Teme is back to looking like he's one second from slitting his wrists and they like you, so—"

"They like me?" Sakura snorted, giving Hinata a look. "Naruto, Sasuke has barely said two words to me before and Gaara," she paused and let a slow grin light up on her lips. "—well, Gaara is a sarcastic son of a boob."

"Speaking of boobs," Hinata spoke up, looking off in the direction of Naruto's house, "—there he is now."

A blank expression was present on Naruto's face—whether he was fascinated or confused by the comments about boobs was unsure. He watched as Sakura craned her neck upwards and a smile lit itself upon her face at the sight of the redhead.

She lifted a hand to wave at the boy, and the redhead responded by motioning at the phone in his hands. She shook her head and headed towards him.

Completely ignoring Naruto.

"Hey—" The blond began, a shadow of worry casting over his face.

"Just leave her be." A quiet voice next to him whispered.

The whisper was near a hiss.

Naruto hadn't even noticed the girl who had been with Sakura until she'd spoken up. He blinked, as if he was certain she'd appeared out of nowhere, before he scratched the back of his head. "Heh. Hey. Um. I'm Naruto. You are…"

The girl had light purple eyes and long dark hair that contrasted very well with her eyes. She looked a lot like Neji, Naruto thought. She even had the same refined air about her as he did, but Naruto didn't hate her for it, as much as he did Neji.

She looked as if she wanted to roll her eyes at him but thought better of it and took a step towards his house.

Naruto followed after.

"Hyuuga Hinata."

Naruto blinked again, taking a step back from her.

Hinata stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Whoa! The Twilight Zone! I was _just _thinking you looked like my friend who has the _exact _same last name. Are you related to Neji?"

Hinata looked at him strangely. "Yes. I've also been Sakura's closest friend for the past three months." She tucked a strand of silky hair behind her ear and watched as his face lit up.

"Three months? That's how long I've been dating Ami! Cool." Naruto had to admit, he felt slightly awkward. He stuffed his hands inside his pockets and cast his eyes to the opposite direction.

"I wonder if there could _possibly_ be any correlation between those two," she drawled in a tone that faintly reminded him of Sasuke.

Hinata stopped next to Sakura, who was smiling sheepishly at Gaara.

"Why am I not surprised?" Gaara sighed, placing a foot up against the wall he was leaning on.

"Not surprised about what?" Naruto flashed them his snow-white teeth as he climbed up the porch. "And you guys can go inside, you know."

Ignoring him, Gaara smirked at Sakura. "Not surprised Sakura broke her phone."

A blond brow quirked in confusion. He turned to Sakura. "But I was just texting you earlier!"

"Which is why I'm not surprised," Gaara muttered while Naruto's pink haired best friend turned to face him. Her emerald green eyes darkened and the anger she was displaying felt like a slap across the face.

Gaara looked on with exasperation at his two best friends and sighed. Kicking himself off the wall, he turned to head inside and Sakura followed suit, her friend going with her. Naruto lingered for a moment before heading inside as well.

The moment Gaara stepped into the living room Sasuke glowered at him. "Thanks a lot for leaving me with It, Gaara."

"My pleasure."

Sasuke watched with slight wonder when Watanabe's expression turned the cruelest it had ever gone while Naruto was around. She was looking at Haruno Sakura, who looked almost just as hostile.

"Oh, well," Ami's voice was anything but nonchalant. "Hi there, Sakura." The name curled in the girl's mouth with a tinge of hostility.

_Great_, Sasuke thought. He could feel a catfight ready to break out and he really wasn't interested. The Xbox was forgotten, though. Gaara didn't look like he was very interested, either.

"Want to get out of here?"

Gaara merely shook his head and nodded towards Haruno. "Can't leave her to the wolves, even _if _Hinata is with her."

Sasuke sighed and watched, if not a little resentfully, as the pinkette shoved a strand of medium length hair back. "Ami." Her lip snarled upward before cascading back down to an indifferent line. "Your lip's bleeding."

"Yeah," Naruto snorted as he plummeted down onto the love seat next to Ami. "And I have a bump on my head thanks to Gaara whipping a controller at me."

"I would have too, if I saw some _thing_ glued onto you trying to eat you alive." She shot a sarcastic smile at the other girl. "No offense."

Gaara exhaled sharply with amusement. Naruto, however, did not look so amused.

Ami puckered her lips, despite the fact they were stilll bleeding. Rather than retort back, she turned to Naruto and thrust her arms around him. Running her index finger up and down his well-muscled chest, she purred in a husky voice, "Vampirism is very attractive."

Sasuke would have barfed had he not mastered the art of appearing indifferent, and even Gaara recoiled slightly. Hinata's entire expression cringed with distaste while a choking sound was emitted from Sakura. "Vampires are supposed to be _attractive_." The pinkette muttered to her pale-eyed friend.

Ami missed the comment, but with his keen hearing, Naruto didn't. Sighing, he lightly pushed Ami apart from him and ran a hand through his sun kissed hair. "Sakura, can I speak to you for a second?"

"You're doing so right now, bright one."

He frowned. "Privately?"

She bit her lip and her nails dug into the palm of her hand. Naruto stepped into the hallway and towards the door. Clutching her bag closer to her body, she trudged after him.

She followed him out the ivory doors and onto the porch. The sun shone a bright color that was lightly reminiscent of Naruto's hair. He scrutinized his childhood friend before speaking.

"Sakura…" His arms were raised for dramatic effect. He stared at her with tired blue eyes, a sound of exasperation escaping him. He let his arms fall to his sides, "What gives? Why do you hate Ami so much?"

It took all Sakura's effort to not slap him in the face and demand he be checked for selective amnesia. "You mean other than the fact that she's been trying to ruin my life for the past, how many, eight years?"

"You're over-exaggerating."

Sakura's slender arms formed an X across her chest as she grabbed hold of her shoulders and anger flashed in her eyes. "I'm _exaggerating_? Oh, well then my sincerest apologies for being melodramatic the time she cut off my pigtail in seventh grade. Oh, and when she put a dead cockroach into my lunch!" She hissed in frustration. "I don't get what you see in her, Naruto. You could do some much better than this and frankly—"

"Sakura. Please." Naruto whimpered and Sakura snapped out of her reverie. She looked into his eyes and something inside her died. His cobalt eyes had once been so light and carefree—so different from her own. Now they looked tired and worn.

It scared her.

Taking a step back, she cast her gaze onto her shoes. What where they being torn down to?

"I—uh," She pulled the pink Blackberry out of her pocket and fidgeted with a few buttons before shooting him an awkward half smile. "Um. My dad just texted me. I have to go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Um, right. Yeah. Bye." Without even glancing at him again, she sprinted past him. Naruto's hand hung awkwardly in the air as a half wave. Not quite sure what just happened, Naruto headed inside in a daze.

Gaara looked up from the television, phone in hand and his jade eyes scanned around, waiting for Sakura to enter. "Where's Sakura?"

"Her dad texted her and said she had to go home."

Something about the way Gaara froze made Naruto nervous. Gaara rested his phone down slowly and ominously. Shifting his intense, jaded eyes straight into Naruto's stare, he spoke in a tone laced with disappointment. "Naruto…he _texted_ her?"

Within the seconds that Hinata was out the door, Ami sat in silence, and Sasuke shook his head, Naruto realized his mistake.

Sakura's phone was broken.

* * *

First period, Naruto was missing from Sakura's chemistry class. Slightly relieved that she didn't have to speak to her childhood friend just yet, she spent the lab block discussing practice schedules with Karin. It was only during lunch period that she discovered Naruto had switched into biology—Hinata's biology class, specifically.

"He's that mad at me, huh?" Sakura wondered aloud before taking a sip of her Snapple.

"I, for one, believe he's just avoiding confrontation with you." Hinata took a bite out of her sandwich. "Want me to accidentally cut his arm open when we're dissecting cats next week?"

Not many people could have imagined what Hinata was truly like. Sure, she was sweet, shy, and kind on a normal basis. But Hell hath no fury like a Hinata scorned. "I don't know how well that'd go down with the school board—cutting the mayor's son's arm open."

"But it was an accident." Sakura shuddered at the pure innocence in her friend's tone. Being a Hyuuga, she'd probably get away with it too.

She was _definitely_ scarier than she let on.

Sakura pushed back her long pink bangs and rested her feet on the chair legs. Part of her was furious that Naruto would go to the lengths of switching classes to avoid her. It was one silly little fight and she'd be damned if any teacher bought his "Chemistry just isn't for me" bull crap. The other part of her felt guilty for not being more supportive of her friend. Maybe he really did love Ami, and despite Sakura's own opinion of her, maybe she really was his happiness.

Sakura pushed her chair back. "I'm going to go to the bathroom before class." Hinata merely nodded and Sakura exited the dining hall. She checked to make sure her pink Sharpie was in her back pocket before pushing open the bathroom door and making her way into _her_ stall. What caught her by surprise, was the foreign handwriting, scrawled onto the wall in purple Sharpie.

_It seems you're aware of The Game. The Game where everyone pretends to be somebody they aren't or where they exaggerate who they are or pretend to like something they really don't only because everybody else does. The Game has everybody playing. It proves we are all conformists. We are all fakes. It is the High School Game where everyone's a player, whether they want to be or not. _

_We're all liars._

_It's part of the Game._

Sakura nodded her head lightly, understanding. She wasn't a fool. She knew perfectly well that everyone played this way, even occasionally herself—the only thing was, she hated it. Why did everyone have to pretend? Why couldn't they just be who they really were?

Her nose pulled upwards in distaste before she uncapped her pen.

_Well then, Purple, we're all a bunch of morons, playing social Monopoly when we should be playing the game of Life._

_

* * *

_

_Let the pieces fall where they may,_

_TDE_


	3. Stained

I don't own Naruto. AND I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER. I've been tied down with exams and basically, I fail at life. Thank you so much for the continued feedback! :)

Confessions _On_ **A** _Bathrooom_ Stall

T_h_**e**D**_o_**_m_i**n**_o__Effec_**_t_**

Hinata twirled the thin rod of metal between her fingertips. She took another passing glance at the half sewn piece of cloth in her lap and sighed. It was futile. Trying to concentrate in sewing today was clearly an impossible task—

"_You_! You stupid piece of cloth, I will poke holes through you with strings, believe it!"

—and she was pretty sure it was thanks to the recent transfer into her class. The day before, Naruto had gotten his schedule changed after sewing, leaving her completely unsuspecting today. But today, lo and behold, came the loud mouthed blonde. The temptation to poke the needle through someone's eyeball became overwhelming, causing her to set it down onto the table. Her first objective would be to get the blonde to shut up if she wanted to sew in peace.

"Naruto…" Hinata started, extending a hand over the boy's shoulder.

Said boy blinked in response, the needle in his hand dangerously close to Hinata's eye. She laughed nervously, forcefully lowering his arm.

"Oh, you're Sakura's friend. Hinata, right?" He grinned, shooting her a brief wave, the needle swinging along. "At least I know someone in this class!"

Had it not been rude, Hinata would have snorted. _Some_ people? Naruto was obviously friends with everyone in this class. She glanced from a girl with tissue stuffed up her congested nose to a scrawny looking boy taping his glasses together. Reluctantly, she looked over his toned arms and golden bronze skin. He gave his light blonde hair a shake and then focused his cobalt eyes intently on the…object in his hand. "Naruto. What are you trying to make?"

He blinked innocently and gave his head a slight tilt. "I'm supposed to be making something in particular?"

She was suddenly grateful she put her needle down, or she'd be facing charges and burdened with finding Naruto a new eye. Deciding to drop the nice approach, she sighed and settled a hand on her hip. "Uzumaki. Why are you here?" She glanced around pointedly, a brow quirked. "It's not exactly your social scene."

"Why not? Everyone here looks nice." At that moment, a lanky girl with uneven braids and tilted square glasses tripped over a chair leg, subsequently smashing a sewing machine into the ground. He frowned, the genuine look of confusion on his face paining Hinata slightly. "Okay. It was either this or Domestic Engineering with Orochimaru. Class size of 0."

Hinta grimaced. "You mean that creepy janitor?"

"The one with the long tongue?" He nodded with confirmation. "He gives me the creeps. I'd rather be sewing than learning how to fix clogged toilets. I don't enjoy smelling like shit all day, and sewing's cool."

When Hinata replied with unconvinced eyes, he laughed. "I'm serious. It's pretty chill how you guys make all this cool stuff with your bare hands. And without sewing we'd all be you know, walking around in our birthday suits or something."

At this, Hinata did giggle, despite the animosity she felt towards the boy for hurting Sakura. "Well," she ran a hand over the table top. "—We do use sewing machines a lot, so it's not exactly by hand. Here, let me show you how to do this."

He stuttered as she took the needle from him. "B-but." He scratched the back of his head. "I don't even know what I'm going to make yet."

She blinked in his direction, the needle in her hand. A smile made its way onto her face. "How about a cherry blossom?"

Nice as he was being, the guilt in his eyes did somewhat make Hinata feel better. Not because she was sadistic—but it indicated that he was a good enough person to still care.

* * *

It was nice to wear his jersey around, Sasuke decided as he leaned forward against the black table top of his chemistry desk. He could also attribute his good mood to the fact that Naruto was no longer in his chemistry class, leaving the room peacefully quiet.

He snuck a quiet glance at his lab partner for the first term, Karin, who replaced whoever the absent person was that he was originally matched up with. He didn't know much about Karin except for the fact that she had a somewhat scary obsession with him a few years back that, due to unknown reasons, had gone away.

He didn't know the reasons, but he was grateful.

"We're doing our tryouts while you have your practice today," she said offhandedly in his direction.

"Yeah…" he murmured. It was then that it actually occurred to Sasuke—the girls' team was still recruiting. In a spur of uncharacteristic curiosity, Sasuke asked, "Who's your captain?"

The genuine surprise on her face made Sasuke frown. Why was it so surprising that he would try to continue the conversation? She quickly recovered and turned to face him. "Haruno Sakura."

The other best friend, huh.

He nodded his head in acknowledgement and she continued. "It should be interesting."

Sasuke blinked, quickly trying to decide if he should bother pretending that he cared anymore. Oh, why not. "Why?"

Karin let out a breathy laugh. "You'll see."

For some reason, the idea of a little girl with bubblegum pink hair being frightening suddenly became so much more possible.

* * *

"You're insane," Megumi hissed, but her tone was laced with the barest hint of concern.

"I think genius is the correct word for it," Ino retorted with the flick of her wrist.

Megumi rolled her eyes and Ino felt a pang of guilt when the first thing that popped into her mind was how boringly dull Megumi's eyes were. She didn't want to be a shallow bitch. "Don't you think this is taking it a little… far?"

Ino pretended to register her words before letting out a snarky laugh. She twirled the straw of the iced orange frappuccino she had just picked up from the school café. "Megumi. How long have you known me?"

Megumi hesitated, but soon, the reluctance in her body language disappeared and was replaced with eager eyes. "You're right." She laughed and hastened her pace slightly to match up with Ino's. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Exactly," Ino smiled. But on the inside, she felt like a bitch. The little freshman girl hadn't really done anything _that bad_. Part of Ino even believed that she hadn't necessarily meant to_ insult_ Ino—she had just spoken before her brain had time to process. Everyone let their mouths run off sometimes.

But she was Yamanaka Ino. And everyone knows you do not call Ino's perfectly golden skin "Oompa loompa-ishly orange" (though, Ino even doubted the freshman had used those exact words. Kiss-ups weren't very reliable sources, and the girl didn't have a bitchy reputation) and get away with it.

Which was exactly what brought her here, strolling down the hallway with a bright orange frappuccino in her perfectly smooth hands.

"Where did Hanabi say that little brat's locker was?" Ino turned to Megumi.

"First wing, second locker to the left of room 458." Ino painted a smirk onto her face when they turned the corner. Her blue eyes strolled past a flash of blacks, browns, and a pink before her eyes landed on who she was looking for. Shion something-or-other.

Forcibly shoving the pang of guilt in her chest and swallowing the lump in her throat, she came to a stop at the girl's locker and leaned coyly against the locker next to it.

At this, Shion stiffened and she froze, a book half raised into the top shelf of her locker.

"Hello there." Ino greeted with a double-edged smile—beautiful yet screamingly dangerous.

Shion didn't respond. She shoved her book into her locker and turned hesitantly towards Ino.

Ino gave her a quick glanceover and noted that she actually quite pretty. And her shirt. Designer. Expensive. New.

She felt like complete and utter scum. Her blue eyes rolled towards the frappuccino in her hand, to the people staring with anticipating eyes already surrounding the two. Biting her bottom lip, she tightened her grip on the cup.

"You know, you actually have really pretty hair."

Shion shot her a skeptical look before uttering a "Thanks."

God, Ino really sucked at life. "But it looks really heinous with your pasty skin." Ino's nose cringed upwards. Swiftly and efficiently, she uncapped the drink and with a flick of her wrist, it went flying. With precise aim, it splattered Shion's face, painting it an unflattering shade of chunky orange.

"There. Much better." She gave her one more glance and rested one hand on her hip. "Oompa loompa," she snarled.

She walked away without looking back, but she could hear the laughter of the crowd behind her. It may have seemed like she wasn't looking back because she was who she was, but Ino simply couldn't look at what she had done. She was a coward and a bitchy one at that. The only thing that reassured Ino that she wasn't a complete bitch was that she had avoided staining Shion's new shirt.

Ino laughed bitterly to herself—she was such a pathetic existence.

* * *

Sakura could barely believe what she had seen. She didn't even compute. How could anyone be so… horrendous?

She frowned and pulled a tissue out of her purse. She quickly turned to the girl with the locker next to her. She winced at the orange frappuccino still dripping from her face, and the tears the freshman was fighting back.

Sakura didn't say anything—she simply started to wipe the mess off the girl's face.

Sakura didn't know much about her other than the fact Ino was close friends with Naruto, but if anything, she knew the last person she would want to get involved with was Yamanaka Ino. Because Sakura knew that if she thought the girls on the soccer team were bad—Yamanaka Ino would be the epitome of evil.

* * *

There were three special tables in the cafeteria right under the fancy glass dome that a bunch of rich parents with extra money chipped in to buy. Like any other high school, Konoha Academy consisted of social hierarchies, and the best place to observe this was none other than the cafeteria.

On the left, by the exit leading to another path to the Academy's outdoor campus, were the potheads and the dropouts who simply had too much money in their family, but who ended up in KA anyway.

To the right were the students labeled "most likely to succeed" or, in Ino's mind, "too snobby to function".

Near the front were the kids who seemed to be content to lie back without much care, using as little effort as possible and consequently accomplishing nothing.

In the back were the classic weirdoes, outcasts to the highest caliber.

And then, there was the center of the courtyard.

There were only three tables in the center and those were reserved for none other than the Populars. Situated in increasing order of popularity, from left to right under the dome, sat the most well-liked of Konoha Academy: the cheerleaders, dancers and the elites.

Though she was the alpha female of Konoha Academy, Ino sat with the first group. She hadn't before, but after becoming team captain, she felt it would be wrong of her not to sit with her team. The other two tables consisted of people that barely even knew each other, but sat together simply because of their high social status—she wanted to change that around.

But after the frappuccino catastrophe, Ino didn't have the energy to take her usual seat next to Megumi. She didn't want people to gush over how awesome she was and applaud her for taking shit from no one. So, for the first time in nearly a year, she walked up to the third table to the right, full of people she didn't even know, and slid into the white glossed chair next to Naruto. Said blonde paused in the middle of his lunch (ramen, _of course_) and did a double take.

"Well, well, _well_." He laughed , putting down his chopsticks. "If it isn't the almighty Yamanaka Ino. And what have we done to bring about this lovely visit?"

Naruto was pissed at her. Great.

Ino withheld a snort.

He may have plastered a smile onto his face, but she knew how to see through a mask better than anyone. Ino narrowed her ice colored eyes and leaned forward. "I don't have the energy to bicker with you."

"Why?" Ino's eyes darted to Karin, whose eyes held anger akin to the fire which colored them. "Throwing lattés at fourteen year old girls tire you out?"

She felt her stomach drop. "Actually," she swallowed, hoping they wouldn't notice the guilty quiver of her hands. "It was a frappuccino."

Her comment instilled a high pitched giggle from Ami, but only served to anger Karin further. The redhead simply glared. Ino noted with self-resent that the girl had ceased fire only because she had deemed Ino not worth the effort.

"God damn it, Ino." She nearly winced at the disappointment in her friend's cobalt blue eyes. Naruto shook his head. "Shion's such a nice girl. What could she have possibly done to you?"

"Don't talk as if you know anything," Ino snapped.

"No," Naruto's tone became furious. "I'm not the one who doesn't know anything—you're the one who acts without knowing anything!" He took his hand out of Ami's and ran it through his sunshine colored hair. "Seriously. You're throwing drinks at little girls based off petty rumors!"

Ino couldn't bring herself to muster up a response and Naruto continued. He stood and shook his head. "When'd you become like this?"

She bit her bottom lip, refusing to tear her eyes away from the table to look at Naruto's retreating back in fear that she would start crying. She could only clench her fists as the rest of the table followed suit and she was soon left nearly alone at the table, with only Sasuke calmly eating his tomato salad and another boy seemingly sleeping.

She couldn't take it anymore—she didn't know how she got up the energy, but after what she had just done, Ino felt the need to vent. Before she knew it, she had gracefully slinked out of her chair and soon her feet were taking her to the girl's room. She slammed the broken stall door shut and furiously scribbled her thoughts out onto the door until her arm was sore.

She was _so sick _of being the bitch.

* * *

If Sakura was being totally honest, she would probably say she was really bothered with the way Naruto had acted. Not only had he chosen his three month long hagbag of a girlfriend over her, his best friend since the kinder days, but he'd intentionally switched out of their Chemistry class to avoid her.

To avoid her! The little footlicker.

Sakura must have remembered incorrectly, because for some reason, she thought _she _was the one who was supposed to be upset against _him_ instead of the other way around. Wasn't he the one acting like some hotshot because Ami Watanabe agreed to be his girlfriend? Wasn't _he _the one completely ignoring her opinions and thoughts now when she could have _sworn _he used to value and treasure them not even a year before? Wasn't _HE _the one turning his back on their decade long friendship?

She just didn't understand how he could possibly justify his childish actions and the _gall _he had for acting like some god forsaken victim when in actuality, _he _was the one who put it upon himself to slowly gnaw his way through the ropes that bound their wrists together.

Really.

She wouldn't pretend like she hadn't been a bit immature herself, but the brunt of the strain between them weighed far heavier on _his _side. Sakura wouldn't shoulder his burden this time. Oh no. If he was so bent on being a blind moron, he could do it on his own.

Besides, she wasn't even bothered by his refusal to seek her out.

If anything, she was happy.

"_Why_ do you look like you're ready to burn baby seals?" Sakura twisted her torso to the right, stretching out her abdominal muscles and pulling until they were stretched taut. She stuck her tongue out at Anko. "Actually, don't tell me. I really don't care. I named you captain of the soccer team for a reason, Haruno, and I expect you to give your everything for this team." Anko sent her a pointed look. "So leave your teenage dramas off the field."

Sakura rolled her eyes and continued to stretch out her limbs. "Thank you _so _much for your concern, Anko. You never cease to make me feel loved." Straightening her legs along the grass, she swiftly touched her toes with her fingers and proceeded to inch upwards until both hands were flat against the ground past her sneakers. "So. How many dreams are we planning to kill off today?"

Anko snorted. "You know as well as I do that most of these girls don't dream about _anything _soccer." Sakura shrugged until a feral sneer made its way onto her coach's face. "There's a special tryout today. I'm sure you remember it from your freshman year—"

Unbidden, a dark smirk crossed Sakura's lips. "You mean—"

"Boys versus Girls," she grinned, "—my favorite day of the year."

And with that, Sakura watched her coach hum her way to the wire basket of soccer balls.

_Boys versus Girls… _She remembered freshman year when she tried out for the soccer team and Anko, still the soccer coach, had declared the name of the game. She remembered being so excited, too. When she was growing up with Naruto and Neji and Gaara, they'd always play a little two on two and it had always given Sakura a thrill whenever she'd surpassed all expectations and won.

She'd never had any trouble playing with the boys but when the boys' soccer team had come onto the field with their soccer shorts and shirts, Sakura had known she'd be in trouble. She'd always had a thing for guys who could play soccer, and well, when most of the boys were _damn _good looking to boot, she knew she'd never stand a chance.

It was only when she'd seen Naruto among the ranks did she find her heart calming and her resolve strengthening. Most of the other girls hadn't been so lucky. Half of the girls who'd come for tryouts that day had been cut and Sakura would always gloat that she, as a freshman, hadn't been one of them.

She couldn't wait to see how the girls fared this year.

"Whoa," a familiar voice said from above, "—why is there a creepy smirk on your face?"

Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes. "Karin, you are going to have _so _much fun today."

She watched as the redhead frowned and sat beside her, mimicking the stretches Sakura had started earlier. "Uhm, I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not. And I'm not going to ask. God knows what goes on in that head of yours."

"Two words, Four-Eyes: Freshman year."

Karin raised an eyebrow. "A lot of things happened in freshman year, Sakura, my bitch. You're going to have to elaborate or I'm not going to have a fuckin' clue about what you're talking about."

Smirking, Sakura shrugged and flopped onto her back. "Just trust me, Four-Eyes. You're going to be _ecstatic _when you see those brats swoon—"

"TRYOUTS START NOW SO GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE."

Karin looked over her shoulder and sighed. "Anko is going to make the half of them cry. Again."

"You have to admit, it's kinda funny."

"Only because we've gone through it before," Karin snorted, as they made their way over to the group of huddled girls. "Don't look now but Sakura Number Two is giving you this massive stink eye."

"I'm not surprised," Sakura deadpanned, glancing swiftly over the girl. "She's always giving me the stink eye along with half of the girls here."

Karin opened her mouth to agree when Anko cut her off with her obnoxiously loud voice. "If you thought soccer tryouts were intense the other day, you haven't seen the _half _of it! If you thought you were _sore _the other day, you won't be able to _walk _after today. IF YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD A _CHANCE_ GETTING ON THIS TEAM WITH SOME HALF-ASSED ATTEMPT, I _LAUGH._"

Sakura heard Karin snort from beside her when more than ten girls shifted and sent looks of apprehension to the others. Anko continued with a dark leer on her face and her voice considerably lower. "Today, I've recruited some help with today's tryouts, and I'm sure the half of you won't make the cut." Anko's sneer was almost feral now when she looked past her shoulder and a smile cut across her lips. "Here they are now."

Sakura was pretty sure the scene was playing out in slow motion for the majority of the girls assembled for today's tryouts and judging by the quick intake of breath from beside her, Karin was feeling the effects as well. Really, it was only the boys' soccer tea—_shit. _

She let her eyes wander over their carefully muscled legs and the slow, dangerous swagger in their masses and restrained the appreciative whistle itching to escape her lips. Sakura tore her eyes away from them and felt herself blush. "Four-Eyes, you're drooling."

"At least I'm not raping them with my eyes," she snapped without looking away. "They've got some pretty hunky additions to the team, don't you think? I would tap half of them for sure."

Sakura laughed breathily before shoving her in the arm none too gently and making her way to Anko's side. She started speaking before Sakura even got to her side. "If you watch close enough, Haruno, half of them are ready to drop. _Why _didn't we do this last year?" Sakura opened her mouth but Anko cut her off. "No, don't say anything. I don't care. The point is, these girls are so pathetic, I'm ready to vacuum my own eyes out and skewer them to Kakashi's dog. And you know how much I hate dogs."

"No, not really. But I can tell you hate medication, because I think you forgot to take yours tod--"

"You're interrupting me again, Haruno. I never did trust you. What, with that bubblegum hair of yours. And how many doses of medication I need to take a day is none of your concer—Don't look now but Kakashi is ready to get the shit kicked out of him. That'll wipe the smug grin off his face."

Sakura watched, amused, as Anko sauntered up to Kakashi, the boy's soccer coach and started waving her clipboard around. Sakura took it upon herself to snap the girls out of their fantasies. "Okay, so you're probably wondering what's going on right now—"

"—No, not really." Half of them chorused. Counting without really counting, she noticed five pairs of arms were crossed and two girls were glaring. Oh joy. Bitch squad, assemble!

Ignoring the interruption, Sakura continued. "—_so _I'll be taking the liberty of explaining to you. This is the annual Boys versus Girls tryout. Konoha's boys' team will be helping out today. It's going to be girls against boys, unsurprisingly. We'll start off with some quick exercises first, build up to a few scrimmages before getting to an actual game. I advise you all to give your best because that might be the deciding factor on whether or not you _make _the team this year."

"Bitch," someone called out.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Like an insult that generic would bring out the five year old child within her and make her drop into the fetal position. Please.

"How is that fair, though?" a junior whose name, Sakura was almost sure, was Mikan. "They're boys. How are a bunch of girls supposed to beat them? I mean, we're not going to be cut because we lose in a match, are we?"

Before Sakura could answer, another voice spoke up. "Don't talk to her, Misaki."

_Misaki, Mikan. _She was close enough.

"Attention up here, soccer players." Immediately all of the female heads snapped over to where the two coaches were standing, Sakura's followed. She didn't blame them. Kakashi-sensei had a _damn _sexy voice. She briefly wondered what his face would look like if he didn't wear that stupid cough mask. "Why, _hello_ ladies." Anko elbowed him in the stomach.

"Stop hitting on my girls, Asswipe. Listen up. I've taken the liberty of pairing you all off with players of the same caliber. You _will _bring them down. If you do not beat them, you are off the team. If you _cry, _you are off the team. If you _ask them out_, you are off the team. If you do anything other than win, you are _off the team. _Have I made myself clear?"

Several voices mumbled.

"Then let's get started. Two girls will be assigned to every boy. Group One: Miyazuki S., Ryuzaki L., and Ayuzawa M. Group Two: R—"

* * *

Sakura glared at the Uchiha currently lounging on the grass watching as everybody else played. In actuality, _she _was supposed to be playing a game of one on one with _him_, but due to two girls walking out on the tryout, Sakura was stuck kicking at the grass with _Naruto _standing opposite her. Sasuke had bailed when Kakashi had asked who wanted to play, claiming, "The Dobe could use the practice."

She could strangle him.

After strangling Naruto.

She sighed. Somebody _upstairs _hated her. Of this, Sakura was sure.

"So," Naruto coughed exaggeratedly, balancing the ball with the front of his foot, "—just like the old days, huh?"

"The old days," she couldn't help but hiss, kicking his foot so that the ball flew to the side. "You mean the old days when you were a decent friend who didn't have the tendency to act like a bat and who would _never _think of switching out of Chemistry to _avoid _me? You mean _those _days, Naruto, you freakin' bitch!"

"I'm not avoiding you!"

"Oh yeah?" Sakura hissed. She dribbled the ball away from him, over to her side, back to his and scored one point in the drill. Naruto half-scowled as he retrieved the ball. "Then what do _you _call running away with your tail in between your legs, Smart One?"

A flash of something dark crossed his eyes but Sakura didn't have much time to dwell on it. They were already being called in and were being split into teams of six. It was no surprise to Sakura when she and Naruto were, once again, paired against each other.

She could've sworn Anko was smirking at her in that completely I'm-capable-of-ruining-your-life kind of way when she'd read out the teams. Fuck.

Thank God Karin was on her team.

"So. Trouble in paradise?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sakura sniffed, shaking out her legs.

"C'mon, Flash. You're saying that incessant yelling everybody heard coming from you from across the field was just some friendly banter? I'm not that stupid and I've been playing soccer with you for years. I may not be your best friend but I'm not Sakura Number Two or Watanabe for that matter."

Sakura darted a quick glance at her fellow redhead and grimaced. "I was that loud, huh?"

"Let's just say, my dad could probably hear you in his office, Flash."

"I told you to stop calling me that," Sakura sighed, watching warily as Sasuke took up his stance as referee while Anko and Kakashi watched the other three games interchangeably. "And your dad's in America, smart ass."

"That's kind of the point, Brainless."

"Would you two stop bickering already?" Sasuke barked warily.

She sent him the dirtiest glare possible and walked forwards to act as a striker and a winger and mentally groaned when she saw Naruto do the same. "Do you _have _to act as centre right now?"

"Sakura," Naruto all but whimpered, "—I don't want to fight with you right now."

"But you want to fight with me later, do you? Or are you going to avoid me again?"

"Do we have to do this? What do you want me to do, apologize?"

"I don't want you to just apologize, Uzumaki. I want you to grovel on your hands and knees and know, honestly, what you've done that's got me so angry. But seeing as you're bent on being blind towards my reasons, your apologies mean nothing to me if you don't mean them."

Naruto scrunched up his nose in confusion. "Are you that bothered playing against me? Then just switch with somebody else. This is my position."

Sakura threw up her hands in disbelief. "I'm not _bothered._ For God's sake, Naruto, you're not _that _good!"

Naruto's sky blue eyes flashed with something akin to annoyance. "I'm not that good, Sakura? What is _up _with you?"

Sakura could feel her pulse fly through the roof. "You know what? Don't talk to me. I'm done arguing with a fuckin' wall with an ego the size of Canada."

"Then play, dammit," Sasuke interrupted smoothly, and dropped the ball in front of them.

* * *

Sasuke had never seen Haruno as focused as she was, he decided.

That wasn't saying much, of course. He was never around when Naruto invited the girl along and he never cared much for getting to know her. She was just some girl with obnoxious pink hair, a childish face and a temper known to be akin to the dobe's little brother, Konohamaru.

But he found himself watching her more closely than he ever had before. This was the idiot's childhood best friend and their yelling match rivaled ones he remembered having with Itachi. Not to mention she was kicking the dobe's _ass_. She'd scored twice in the span of fifteen minutes.

Sasuke was never letting him live this one down.

"Flash, watch your five o'clock!"

Briefly, Sasuke snuck a quiet glance at Karin who'd been assisting Haruno with the goals. He hadn't noticed the first time but after several more calls of _Flash_, Sasuke concluded this was some sort of nickname. It must have been due to the girl's speed. Admittedly, her foot flashes could rival his. Sasuke didn't know if this bothered him or impressed him.

"Fuck!"

Sasuke turned to watch Haruno steal the ball from Naruto once more and was certain he hadn't imagined the grin that appeared swiftly onto her lips. That was another thing about Haruno Sakura that piqued his interest.

Throughout the game, she hadn't uttered a word.

She passed the ball wordlessly to players with their backs turned, and Sasuke was given the impression her presence was enough to warn them. The two goals she'd scored had been with silent assists between both redheads and Sasuke was reminded of Itachi who had been much like a phantom when he played. Even her kicks made little to no noise.

Sasuke called a foul when Glasses, on his team, (he couldn't quite remember his name) tripped Sakura. "Get your shit together, Uzumaki! You're getting beaten by a girl!"

"You're not helping, you ass," Naruto snarled darkly, wiping the sweat from his forehead and watching as Sakura went to the sidelines for her throw-in. "Why don't you shoulder your own weight for once?"

"I would if you'd stop hogging the fuckin' ball!"

Sasuke could feel his temples throbbing.

What _time _was it anyway?

This practice seemed far longer than usual and Sasuke could only count the seconds until he could get into his car and head home. Any minute now, he'd probably strangle the dobe who had been mouthing off for the past ten minutes whenever Haruno bested him. Judging by the sun, it could only be a quarter to five.

Thank God.

"Teme, are you even _watching _this? That was a foul!"

"Do you even know how to play, Dobe?" Sasuke slid his gaze to the loud blonde and raised a brow. "I wouldn't care even if it _was _a foul. And it wasn't."

"You weren't even looking!"

"You're an idiot."

Naruto growled from his position on the ground and slowly got to his feet, not caring enough to brush the grass from his shorts. "I hate you."

"Dead last."

Sasuke felt the presence behind him before he heard Kakashi's voice. "You two really are made for each other. The sexual tension is making me hot under the collar."

Sasuke forced the bile from his throat. "You're sick, Kakashi."

"That's sensei to you."

"You wish. Shouldn't you be ref'ing your game?" Sasuke peered over his shoulder and saw that more than half of the players were busy sitting on the grass, drinking water or watching the game he decided would be called Uzumaki vs. Haruno. Sasuke turned back to his teacher and raised an eyebrow. "They're done already?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I was too bored to keep watching." He nodded towards the only ongoing game and said, "Naruto's making the team look bad, huh?"

"He looks like his balls are going to fall off. Told you he didn't know how to play," Sasuke returned mildly, swinging his whistle idly around one finger. "His head's out of the game. His form is worse than usual and he's just swinging his leg and hoping to hit something. He loses the ball too easily against Haruno. His dribbling is off and he's passed a total of two times."

Kakashi didn't say anything from beside for a minute and they both watched as Naruto bumbled his way around the field while Haruno danced the ball around him. Sasuke felt his spine tingle in warning when Kakashi said, "So."

He rolled his eyes when Kakashi finished, "Why don't you replace Naruto for this round so that the boy's team isn't completely humiliated today?"

"No thanks."

"I was asking to be nice. Naruto, come here!"

Sasuke grumbled and proceeded to shake out his legs. He hadn't even stretched, dammit.

* * *

Sakura could only come up with three word thoughts after she'd finished the game with five goals, two assists and a final winning score of 5-7 against Sasuke's team.

When Naruto had gotten called off the field and was told to sit out for the rest of the game, Sakura thought, _take that, bitch._

When Sasuke had replaced him on the field with a dark scowl on his face and his deep set onyx eyes glaring at her, Sakura thought, _fuck my life._

When Sakura proceeded to score twice more against Sasuke and high-fived her five teammates with a face dripping with sweat and legs singing with exertion, she thought, _Good workout, Haruno._

When Sasuke reached for the hem of his fucking shirt and pulled it over his head to show lean muscles, tight abs and a fan-fuckin-tastic chest glistening with perspiration, Sakura thought, _holy __**fuck**__, Jesus._

Even the slightest movements made him ripple in a way that made Sakura forget how to swallow. And breathe, for that matter. With the setting sun alighting him in the way it was, his skin looked almost ethereal, his hair defied gravity and his face, which she'd always found pretty freakin' good-looking, made her weak in the knees. Adding the fact that he played soccer like a pro made her want to sigh almost dreamily.

Too bad he caught her staring and raised that damned eyebrow. "Did you need something?" His voice was quiet and smooth.

Sakura shook her head to rid her of her thoughts and looked at him warily. "Thanks for helping us out today, Uchiha. You play well."

He turned to face her, suddenly, and Sakura took a step back when he looked at her with those _eyes _of his. They were dark, like he had a secret behind his eyes, and it made her heart speed up just the slightes—"You could work on your passing." Then he turned away.

Sakura saw _red. _

Before she could do much of anything, however, Naruto reached for one of the balls by her foot. "Thanks for humiliating me, Sakura," Naruto scowled, kicking the ball to the wire basket and missing by a mile.

Sakura made the shot and it went in with a satisfying _clang!_ She turned to Naruto with an eyebrow raised and watched while his eyes darkened. "You did that all by yourself, Naruto. Don't try to push the blame on me."

He shook his head. "What happened to you? You're not acting like yourself at all and you're so _frustrating _now."

"What happened to _me?_ What happened to _you_, Naruto! I've had this conversation with you about a hundred times and I refuse to repeat myself again because apparently, no matter what I say, you're not about to listen anyway! So go dive back into your fantasy world where everybody bows down at your feet, where you're the biggest hotshot on the planet and where you can do no wrong! Go ahead and forget about who you were before! But don't you _dare _blame any of this one _me. _I'm not your _bitch, _Naruto. So while you're drifting off on your clouds and fighting demons with your nonexistent ninja skills, don't expect me to wait for you to come around. When you come around, Naruto, and finally see what the hell you've been missing, _don't _expect me to be waiting for you."

With one final glare, she turned her back on Naruto's wide blue eyes and headed straight to her stall. God forbid she let him see just how hurt she was that he was being such a dick.

She thanked the Gods she was too angry for tears.

When she all but slammed the bathroom stall door closed, Sakura felt relief when she saw the streaks of purple staining it in script she could now call familiar. Sticky with sweat and still in her soccer uniform, Sakura read:

_Social Monopoly, huh? That's definitely one way to put it. In a way, Pinkie, this _is _the game of Life.  
This is the only Life I know. This is the only life society has taught us.  
You go around school watching kids huddle together in their little cliques and you don't even bat an eyelash.  
It's normal. It's expected.  
You _expect _to see the bitch dumping drinks on people's heads.  
You _expect _to see the athletes tormenting the kids in Glee club.  
You _expect _to see the Dancers and Cheerleaders gossiping and thinking they're better than everybody else.  
We're all stuck in a world where these things don't even surprise us anymore.  
We're all stuck in a world where these standards are expected of us, where facades and masks are our greatest comfort and where being _true _to ourselves is just a fantasy we dream about when our eyes are closed but is just that, a fantasy, to us when our eyes are open. It's something we can only hope for, that almost seems to be in our reach, but in the end, it's always going to be an arms length away.  
You try to escape it, but the more you try, the more you realize:  
There _is _no escape._

Sakura didn't know how long she stood there. No two words could sum up the thoughts revolving around her mind. She'd thought about pulling the pink Sharpie she kept taped to the top of the stall wall to write, but there were too many things she wanted to say. She wanted to tell Purple about those damn soccer girls. She wanted to tell her about Yamanaka's stunt today. She wanted to go on a fuckin' rant about Naruto and how much he's changed and how much she was right about there being no escape from this scene where popularity was so important and where girlfriends made a boy forget about his _best friends_ and how priorities changed so drastically.

Sakura had so much she could say on that door where pink and purple clashed horrendously against puke green paint—but instead, Sakura unbolted the stall door, washed her hands, despite not even going to the bathroom, and headed to the girls' change room.

Sakura had a lot to say, that was certain, but everything she wanted to say would take more than a fuckin' door to write it on. She would write on it tomorrow morning, she decided, when she wasn't drunk on endorphins and angry as hell.

As she collected her things from the girl's change room, the only vivid thought in her head was the fact that Sakura wanted to meet whoever Purple was. She sounded like a girl who knew what she was doing.

* * *

_Let the pieces fall where they may,_

_TDE_


End file.
